Young Houston County QB embodies team mantra in win over Brookwood

Houston County picked the perfect slogan for quarterback Ryan Maxwell’s first start.

Head coach Jeremy Edwards wore it proudly on his shirt in Houston County font: “House Money.”

“If I was to give you $100 and send you to a casino with my money, you’re going to play free, play loose, and you’re not going to worry about wasting my money,” Edwards said. “But you play with yours, you’re going to play reserved.

“So we just wanted our guys to just cut it loose, play with no fear, no fear of judgement and just go out and perform.”

Perhaps no one needed that message more than Maxwell, a sophomore tasked with beating Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic regular Brookwood at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday.

And if high school football was a casino, Maxwell hit triple sevens on his first pull, helping to lead the Bears, the No. 9 team in Class 5A, to a 31-24 win over a Class 6A opponent.

Maxwell delivered massive back-to-back throws to shock Brookwood with a game-winning touchdown pass in the final seconds.

It started with a third-and-3 on the Brookwood 45-yard line. The Bears and Broncos were tied at 24 with 40 seconds remaining.

Houston County hadn’t tried many deep passes and only needed three yards to extend their drive. Maybe that’s why receiver MJ Mathis got so open on the right sideline.

Maxwell floated a 28-yard pass down the sideline to Mathis, who made an impressive mid-route adjustment to secure the catch and stay in bounds. The Bears could have chosen to run the rest of the clock out and try for a game-winning field goal at the buzzer.

But Edwards was playing with house money, trusting Maxwell to finish the game on the next snap.

Maxwell delivered, finding Jase Jordan open on a wheel route along the same sideline. Jordan scampered into the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown with seven seconds left.

“When I faked and I knew nobody was coming, I knew the ball was coming,” Jordan said. “I looked back and it was right there. It felt amazing.”

Maxwell, who walked off the field with a player of the game trophy in hand, said he knew Houston County was built for the moment before the drive started.

“We’ve just got to play fast man, we’re a tempo team and that’s all we do,” Maxwell said.

Maxwell, who finished 23 of 32 passing for 219 yards and two touchdowns, felt that way on the bus ride in. The magnitude of a televised game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium – and Houston County’s first game without former star quarterback AJ Hill – wasn’t much of a thought.